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The Psychology of Everything
The Psychology of Addiction
When does a harmless habit become an addition? Why do only some of us get addicted? What can make recovery possible?
The Psychology of Addiction is a fascinating introduction to the psychological issues surrounding addiction and the impact they have on social policy, recovery and an addict’s everyday life. The book focuses on drug and alcohol addiction and tackles topics such as whether drug use always leads to addiction and the importance of social networks to recovery. It also looks at how people can become addicted to activities like gambling, gaming and sex.
In a society that still stigmatises addiction The Psychology of Addiction emphasises the importance of compassion, and provides a sensitive insight to anyone with experience of addiction.
The Psychology of Addiction is a fascinating introduction to the psychological issues surrounding addiction and the impact they have on social policy, recovery and an addict’s everyday life. The book focuses on drug and alcohol addiction and tackles topics such as whether drug use always leads to addiction and the importance of social networks to recovery. It also looks at how people can become addicted to activities like gambling, gaming and sex.
In a society that still stigmatises addiction The Psychology of Addiction emphasises the importance of compassion, and provides a sensitive insight to anyone with experience of addiction.
- GenresPsychologyNonfiction
138 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 8, 2018
14 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 12, 2021
The book reviews addiction, how is it formed, what effects it has, some stigmas and misconceptions about it and general and beneficial use of drugs. It is written in very understandable way. The main insights for me from the book are:
Drug use is not the same as drug addiction, which is true of other addictive behaviors. Addictive behaviors are at the extreme end of the spectrum. With addiction, our habits become deeply entrenched and overvalued. Our brains are designed to create habits. And the most entrenched habits are those who serve emotional needs: for belonging, safety and security, control and autonomy, relief of overwhelming pain. Addiction tricks people to go after things that will never meet their needs in the long run.
Operand conditioning - a behavior can be increased in frequency or reinforced if it leads to a reward (positive reinforcement) or removal of something aversive (negative reinforcement). If rewards are given intermittently or unpredictably, behavior increases more and persists for longer than if rewards are given at regular intervals. The more unpredictable a reward, the more likely we are to pursue a particular pattern of behavior. Slot machines are designed to pay out small rewards frequently, medium rewards occasionally, and jackpot winnings very rarely. The small wins are programmed to happen randomly but often enough to make you want keep playing. Addiction from such design occurs 3-4 times faster than other forms of gambling.
Dopamine was thought initially that was the pleasure chemical because it seemed to be released in response to a reward or something associated with something like a reward. It turns out dopamine is also released in response to punishment and immediately before a reward is actually received if it has been delivered in a predictable repetitive way. More is released if the rewards are given intermittently and unpredictably. Recent research has given more nuanced view on how this chemical works with other neurotransmitters to guide expectations. We are storytellers and we love to find patterns in our lives to help us make sense of an often unpredictable world. We spend time in mental time traveling and future forecasting. And dopamine is released in response of anticipation of a reward or punishment. It helps us to learn. The biggest spikes are found when expectations are met or a pattern has been recognized. The joy of achievement and the knowledge that a goal has been reached. Dopamine drives the chase and acquisition, the excitement and power, the “I did it”, not the fulfillment of the reward. Dopamine also plays key role in memory formation. Our memories of past experience guide our future behavior. And the dopamine release learns which rewards are associated with which behaviors and imprints this in our neural networks. The more a behavior is repeated, the stronger the networks become. Addiction isn’t about chasing hedonistic pleasure but wanting, governed by dopamine, is disconnected from liking. Actually addictive behaviors are a reflection of sensetized wanting even when the reward is no longer liked. When behavior turns into a habit and becomes more compulsive people feel compelled to chase it even if they know they don’t want or like it. How habits become compulsions? In most cases these habits don’t lead to addiction but a couple of things make it more likely. First is repetition and the way dopamine shapes the reward pathways to follow their urges with increasing efficiency, capturing more and more associated cues.
Our conscious control mechanism is disconnected that is why old compulsive habits are difficult to break because the more compulsive they are the less open to conscious control they are. Studies showed that rats took less or no drugs when they were freely available if they live in rich or social environments. It wasn’t exposure to the drugs that led to compulsive consumption but isolation and disconnection from a healthy social environment. Addiction is something that is developed from a particular combination of ingredients (vulnerable individuals having significant experiences at particularly sensitive points in development). Individual vulnerabilities are found in the relationships between our temperaments or our genetic potential. The emotional and cultural environments we are born into and what we make of them.
Intermittent reinforcement also influences the effect of the reward. By sensitizing the motivational brain network to be on high alert for any cues that the drug or specific non-drug addiction might be on its way, increasing cravings and ramping up the wanting of this dopamine system. For those of us that we restrict access to a specific addiction but then giving in and binging in a varying cycles we most likely are making it harder for ourselves to find a more balanced pattern of behavior in the long run. On the other hand if drugs are used on a smaller and predictable doses tolerance builds up so that more of the drug is required to reach a similar effect. And if taken to a regular schedule, craving begins to decrease. This is why opiat substitution treatments (OST) work because they offer regimented and predictably scheduled regime that helps to calm the wanting of the motivational core. The other reason they work is that the substitution drug has longer half life than heroin so leaves the body more slowly rather than large spike of reward that wears off quickly, making you chase the spikes. The faster a drug gets to the brain, the more intense the spike so injecting a drug makes you more likely to get addicted than snorting it. More rapid roots of use combined with unpredictable patterns of use increase the addictability of substances.
Mood and actions are affected far more by what people think they have drunk than what they have actually drunk. People who expect drinking to result in violence become aggressive and those who expect to lead to sexy become amorous, etc. The meaning we give an object or substance may influence its impact on us even more than the substance itself (placebo drugs).
Some people or headlines proclaim specific gene is found related to specific addiction. But they are misleading and confuse genetic traits with specific behaviors. Dangerous in their encouragement of genetic determinism (the idea that our genes dictate our behavior) can lead to hopelessness among the people who are led to believe they can’t change because it’s in their genes. This can increase stigma, isolate people who are most vulnerable and divert the emphasis and funding away from social, psychological and public health approaches better able to target the root causes and longer term consequences. Access to financial and educational resources remains the most important determinant of how we fair in life.
Why relationships are the key to recovery. Treatment for addiction is most effective when it is delivered within a framework of compassion and understanding. Offering respect, empathy and collaborative non-judgmental approach is the basis of all therapeutic relationships. Effective treatment is about considering individual’s behavior in light of what has happened to them and how is that affecting them now rather than what is wrong with them. This doesn’t mean accepting every aspect of behavior without challenge but to challenge empathically and support someone to place limits on the parts of themselves they are seeking to change.
Labeling the emotion you are experiencing gives you a chance to ask what you can do about it instead of being swept up and blindsided by it. Sometimes it is about considering how much control you have over the situation and deciding what to let go off. But turning towards difficulties rather than avoiding them allows you to consider which problems you can tackle and which to let go off in the time being. If you learn to control your breath, you learn to control your mind. Change sometimes starts from the belief that you deserve for things to be better.
Change is possible. People who have learned to control their addictive tendencies have higher than average brain growth in areas involved with behavior control and regulation, as well as higher scores than the general public on measures of quality of live and self-esteem. We might not be able to control the lives we are born into but we can learn to control our tricky brains and their sometimes destructive tendencies, with compassion for ourselves and our flaws, connection with others, and a commitment to work towards a society, that enables us all to reach our full potential.
Drug use is not the same as drug addiction, which is true of other addictive behaviors. Addictive behaviors are at the extreme end of the spectrum. With addiction, our habits become deeply entrenched and overvalued. Our brains are designed to create habits. And the most entrenched habits are those who serve emotional needs: for belonging, safety and security, control and autonomy, relief of overwhelming pain. Addiction tricks people to go after things that will never meet their needs in the long run.
Operand conditioning - a behavior can be increased in frequency or reinforced if it leads to a reward (positive reinforcement) or removal of something aversive (negative reinforcement). If rewards are given intermittently or unpredictably, behavior increases more and persists for longer than if rewards are given at regular intervals. The more unpredictable a reward, the more likely we are to pursue a particular pattern of behavior. Slot machines are designed to pay out small rewards frequently, medium rewards occasionally, and jackpot winnings very rarely. The small wins are programmed to happen randomly but often enough to make you want keep playing. Addiction from such design occurs 3-4 times faster than other forms of gambling.
Dopamine was thought initially that was the pleasure chemical because it seemed to be released in response to a reward or something associated with something like a reward. It turns out dopamine is also released in response to punishment and immediately before a reward is actually received if it has been delivered in a predictable repetitive way. More is released if the rewards are given intermittently and unpredictably. Recent research has given more nuanced view on how this chemical works with other neurotransmitters to guide expectations. We are storytellers and we love to find patterns in our lives to help us make sense of an often unpredictable world. We spend time in mental time traveling and future forecasting. And dopamine is released in response of anticipation of a reward or punishment. It helps us to learn. The biggest spikes are found when expectations are met or a pattern has been recognized. The joy of achievement and the knowledge that a goal has been reached. Dopamine drives the chase and acquisition, the excitement and power, the “I did it”, not the fulfillment of the reward. Dopamine also plays key role in memory formation. Our memories of past experience guide our future behavior. And the dopamine release learns which rewards are associated with which behaviors and imprints this in our neural networks. The more a behavior is repeated, the stronger the networks become. Addiction isn’t about chasing hedonistic pleasure but wanting, governed by dopamine, is disconnected from liking. Actually addictive behaviors are a reflection of sensetized wanting even when the reward is no longer liked. When behavior turns into a habit and becomes more compulsive people feel compelled to chase it even if they know they don’t want or like it. How habits become compulsions? In most cases these habits don’t lead to addiction but a couple of things make it more likely. First is repetition and the way dopamine shapes the reward pathways to follow their urges with increasing efficiency, capturing more and more associated cues.
Our conscious control mechanism is disconnected that is why old compulsive habits are difficult to break because the more compulsive they are the less open to conscious control they are. Studies showed that rats took less or no drugs when they were freely available if they live in rich or social environments. It wasn’t exposure to the drugs that led to compulsive consumption but isolation and disconnection from a healthy social environment. Addiction is something that is developed from a particular combination of ingredients (vulnerable individuals having significant experiences at particularly sensitive points in development). Individual vulnerabilities are found in the relationships between our temperaments or our genetic potential. The emotional and cultural environments we are born into and what we make of them.
Intermittent reinforcement also influences the effect of the reward. By sensitizing the motivational brain network to be on high alert for any cues that the drug or specific non-drug addiction might be on its way, increasing cravings and ramping up the wanting of this dopamine system. For those of us that we restrict access to a specific addiction but then giving in and binging in a varying cycles we most likely are making it harder for ourselves to find a more balanced pattern of behavior in the long run. On the other hand if drugs are used on a smaller and predictable doses tolerance builds up so that more of the drug is required to reach a similar effect. And if taken to a regular schedule, craving begins to decrease. This is why opiat substitution treatments (OST) work because they offer regimented and predictably scheduled regime that helps to calm the wanting of the motivational core. The other reason they work is that the substitution drug has longer half life than heroin so leaves the body more slowly rather than large spike of reward that wears off quickly, making you chase the spikes. The faster a drug gets to the brain, the more intense the spike so injecting a drug makes you more likely to get addicted than snorting it. More rapid roots of use combined with unpredictable patterns of use increase the addictability of substances.
Mood and actions are affected far more by what people think they have drunk than what they have actually drunk. People who expect drinking to result in violence become aggressive and those who expect to lead to sexy become amorous, etc. The meaning we give an object or substance may influence its impact on us even more than the substance itself (placebo drugs).
Some people or headlines proclaim specific gene is found related to specific addiction. But they are misleading and confuse genetic traits with specific behaviors. Dangerous in their encouragement of genetic determinism (the idea that our genes dictate our behavior) can lead to hopelessness among the people who are led to believe they can’t change because it’s in their genes. This can increase stigma, isolate people who are most vulnerable and divert the emphasis and funding away from social, psychological and public health approaches better able to target the root causes and longer term consequences. Access to financial and educational resources remains the most important determinant of how we fair in life.
Why relationships are the key to recovery. Treatment for addiction is most effective when it is delivered within a framework of compassion and understanding. Offering respect, empathy and collaborative non-judgmental approach is the basis of all therapeutic relationships. Effective treatment is about considering individual’s behavior in light of what has happened to them and how is that affecting them now rather than what is wrong with them. This doesn’t mean accepting every aspect of behavior without challenge but to challenge empathically and support someone to place limits on the parts of themselves they are seeking to change.
Labeling the emotion you are experiencing gives you a chance to ask what you can do about it instead of being swept up and blindsided by it. Sometimes it is about considering how much control you have over the situation and deciding what to let go off. But turning towards difficulties rather than avoiding them allows you to consider which problems you can tackle and which to let go off in the time being. If you learn to control your breath, you learn to control your mind. Change sometimes starts from the belief that you deserve for things to be better.
Change is possible. People who have learned to control their addictive tendencies have higher than average brain growth in areas involved with behavior control and regulation, as well as higher scores than the general public on measures of quality of live and self-esteem. We might not be able to control the lives we are born into but we can learn to control our tricky brains and their sometimes destructive tendencies, with compassion for ourselves and our flaws, connection with others, and a commitment to work towards a society, that enables us all to reach our full potential.
February 13, 2022
An inspiring self-help book about addiction. If you suffer from an addiction or know someone who is suffering from an addiction -it may be alcohol, drugs, video games, binge eating or even relationships-, you can read this book as a start for your/your loved one's recovery journey. It was not only helpful but also promising.
July 17, 2018
This is a really good book. Relatively short and easy to read. The title is a little misleading as it touches on various aspects of addiction including the biological causes and treatments as well as relevant social issues. Overall it is balanced and clearly written. There are one or two areas where I think the author might have left out some relevant information - for example when talking about the effects of decriminalisation in Portugal she states that the drug use has decreased among young people when large studies have suggested the opposite (ESPAD) and she never mentions the fact that they introduced widespread treatment at the same time as decriminalisation making it very difficult to make links between the policy change and any outcomes. But overall worth a read by people working in addition and mental health related fields or even someone who just wants to learn more about the topic.
August 2, 2021
I picked this book up as an introduction to the topic of addiction - for a multitude of reasons. First, to learn about my own, self-recognized tendency to become addicted to things, and because I was interested about writing about a character with serious addiction issues.
This book educated me. I learned some interesting things about addiction, and even had a few of the notions I held about addiction prior to this challenged and convincingly argued against so well that I now even lean towards agreeing with approaches to dealing with addiction. It was a short read; it probably took me about two hours. For page-by-page value, definitely not worth the money but it was good enough to make me question some of my own beliefs about addiction while educating me in the process.
I say this, however, as a total lay-man on the subject of psychiatry. I've only taken one two classes in the subject and have read very minimal material on it, so take that with a grain of salt.
This book educated me. I learned some interesting things about addiction, and even had a few of the notions I held about addiction prior to this challenged and convincingly argued against so well that I now even lean towards agreeing with approaches to dealing with addiction. It was a short read; it probably took me about two hours. For page-by-page value, definitely not worth the money but it was good enough to make me question some of my own beliefs about addiction while educating me in the process.
I say this, however, as a total lay-man on the subject of psychiatry. I've only taken one two classes in the subject and have read very minimal material on it, so take that with a grain of salt.
March 21, 2022
This was a really great, succinct book. I loved that the author emphasised the complex social aspects of addiction, and that it is not just due to genetics. It does a really good job of busting the myths surrounding addiction and isn’t too repetitive or long (so many non fiction books are!!).
Everyone could benefit from reading this book (especially conservatives and boomers).
I can’t find anything about the author online, so I’m hoping they used a pseudonym to publish this.
Everyone could benefit from reading this book (especially conservatives and boomers).
I can’t find anything about the author online, so I’m hoping they used a pseudonym to publish this.
September 3, 2021
Entry level, rather succinct, not quite sure I'd be so sure about the addiction nature vs. nurture spilt, i.e. I'd guess that's a bit more complicated than stating that some additions, say alcoholism, are of complex, but nature origin (genetic and all that jazz), whilst others are consequences of traumatic experiences. However, you need to start somewhere..
July 12, 2018
What a wonderfully insightful book. Applicable to so many areas of life. As a health professional who regularly dealt with ORT and addiction - I am so glad I picked this up!
May 18, 2021
Very good summary of the current state of substance abuse theories.
November 17, 2021
Short but interesting. Probably would have preferred a more in depth analysis but I know I'm probably alone in that!
October 3, 2023
3.5 lots of great info and awesome intro into addiction if u dont know much. it just gives some misleading info ab the brain but tbh with such short book i think they did the best they couldve lol.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews